1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to field of document management and, more specifically, the present invention relates to a method for managing electronic documents on a digital processing system or computer.
2. Background Information
The Internet and/or the World Wide Web have become convenient and inexpensive resources for finding information about nearly every subject imaginable. Users can shop for merchandise, get stock quotes, tune into radio programs, chat with other users and engage in a host of other activities. The tremendous in access to the World Wide Web (the web) has been fueled by the wide spread availability of computer programs called web browsers. A web browser is a client-side program for establishing communications between a client computer and a server computer on the web (i.e., a web server) using the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). In a typical transaction, a web browser transmits a request to download a document indicated by an address called a uniform resource locator (URL). The download request is routed through the web until it reaches a web server indicated by the URL. The web server responds to the request by transmitting the indicated document, commonly called a "web page," back to the client computer.
Web pages are usually written using the hypertext mark up language (HTML) and often include links to other objects. For example, a web page may include links to one or more graphics objects that are to be downloaded and displayed with the web page. A web page may also include links to program code (e.g., Java code) that is to be downloaded and executed on the client computer when the web page is displayed. The downloaded code may be used to create a more interactive presentation, for example, by animating portions of the web page or by prompting for user input. A web page may also include pointers to plug-in modules that are expected to be resident in the client computer. Such program modules are commonly referred to as "plug-ins" and are generally used to extend the capabilities of the web browser. For example, a plug-in may be invoked to generate audio output, perform file translation and so forth.
Occasionally, a computer user may wish to capture a web page for a later recall or to forward to another user. In many web browsers, this is accomplished by saving a copy of the underlying HTML document, including its links to graphics images, downloaded code, plug-ins and so forth. When the HTML document is recalled from storage, the HTML is reinterpreted by the web browser to regenerate the displayed web page. Assuming that the downloaded code, graphics images and plug-ins are available, the web page may be redisplayed with its original graphical and dynamic characteristics.
A significant disadvantage of using a stored HTML document to redisplay a web page is that the ability to faithfully reproduce the original web page display is dependent upon a number of factors that are independent of the stored HTML document. If any of these independent factors change, it is likely that the redisplayed web page will not be an accurate reproduction of the original. For example, a web page may be displayed differently depending on whether the same or a different web browser is used, whether the required plug-ins are available, whether a code execution engine (e.g., a Java virtual machine) is present and so forth. Inaccurate reproduction is particularly likely when a saved HTML document is electronically mailed to another user for display using the other users web browser, plug-ins and code execution engine. Consequently, the user mailing the HTML document cannot be certain that the receiving party will see the intended image. This uncertainty dramatically reduces the usefulness of many existing techniques for capturing web pages.
Another common activity for users that access the web periodically is to revisit particular web pages from time to time. One known method for simplifying revisiting web sites is to bookmark the web page as a "favorite" after visiting the web page. FIG. 1 is an illustration of a sample window 101 of a web browser illustrating the "Favorites" feature of the web browser. As shown in FIG. 1, a "Favorites" 105 command is included in a menu bar 103 of web browser window 101. In operation, a user navigates the web using the web browser until the user navigates to a desired web page. If the user desires to bookmark the particular web page as a "favorite," the user can select the command "Add to Favorites" 107 under the "Favorites" 105 menu as shown in FIG. 1. Assuming the user is browsing the "XYZ News Web Page" at the time the "Add to Favorites" 107 command is executed, an "XYZ News Web Page" entry 109 is added to the favorites 105 menu as shown in FIG. 1. Assume in this example that the URL for the "XYZ News Web Page" is "http://www.xyznews.com." In this example, "http://www.xyznews.com" will be associated with the "XYZ News Web Page" 109 entry in the "Favorites" 105 menu. Thus, if the user subsequently wishes to revisit the "XYZ News Web Page," the user simply needs to select the "XYZ News Web Page" 109 entry in the "Favorites" 105 menu. The web page located at the address "http://www.xyznews.com" will then be accessed in web browser window 101.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram 201 illustrating the steps performed when using the "Favorites" feature of the web browser illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the desired web page is first accessed using the web browser as shown in processing step 203. Next the user indicates that the web page is to be added to the favorites in the web browser as shown in processing step 205. Finally, the web browser inserts an entry corresponding to the web page into the menu of the web browser, as shown in processing step 207.
One disadvantage of using the "favorites" feature of the web browser of FIG. 1 is that the web pages accessed by each entry in "Favorites" 105 menu may constantly change. Consequently if a user desired to revisit a web page using "Favorites" 105 menu, the web page may be modified, or may no longer even exist when the user attempts to access the web page at a later date.
Thus, what is desired are methods and apparatuses for managing electronic documents, such as for example but not limited to web pages, that addresses the problems discussed above. Such methods and apparatuses should enable a user to save web page information without the risk of losing the web page information later as a result of the web page being modified or removed from the web. In addition, such a method should enable a first user to provide a second user with a web page image as originally viewed by the first user.